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| Piú viste - Mercury |
ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Wang_Meng_Crater-PIA17239-PCF-LXTT-IPF-01.jpgWang Meng Crater, in detail (Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)76 visiteThe large Wang Meng Impact Basin (whose diameter is approx. 165 Km - such as about 102,465 miles) can clearly be see in this Extra Detail Magnification which is a crop taken mosaic made out of three frames obtained by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on April, 20, 2013. This Absolute Natural Color view of the Impact Basin shows us, among many other extremely interesting things, the strong contrast between the dark Low Reflectance Material (or "LRM", for short) which is located on the Eastern Portion of Wang Meng's Peak Ring and the brighter Western Portion of the Peak Ring itself, as well as the bright white Rays that spread across the lower right side (---> West) of the picture.
While some of the Hollows existing on and near the Crater's Peak Ring and Outer Rim are, somehow, "associated" (here and there, and always unevenly) with Low Reflectance Material, as evidenced by their bright white halos, the Rays that are visible here (---> such as towards the Western and South/Western sides of the frame) are, in fact, coming from other Impact Craters located in Wang Meng's proximities - including the small, fresh Impact Crater visible towards the upper right corner of the picture, just in betwenn the Peak Ring and the Outer Rim of Wang Meng.
Date acquired: April, 20th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 8743264, 8743256, 8743260
Images ID: 3915336, 3915334, 3915335
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6,33° North
Center Longitude: 254,10° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 41,6° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the pictures were taken, was about 48,4° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 0,2°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 41,7°
This frame (which is a crop taken from an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's false colors and Map-Projected image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17239) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Mercurian Impact Crater "Wang Meng"), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Wang_Meng_Crater-PIA17239-PCF-LXTT-IPF-00.jpgWang Meng Crater, in context (Possible Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)76 visiteThe large Wang Meng Impact Basin (whose diameter is approx. 165 Km - such as about 102,465 miles) can clearly be see in the top right of this image, which is a mosaic made out of three frames taken by the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft on April, 20, 2013. This Absolute Natural Color view of the Impact Basin shows us, among many other extremely interesting things, the strong contrast between the dark Low Reflectance Material (or "LRM", for short) which is located on the Eastern Portion of Wang Meng's Peak Ring and the brighter Western Portion of the Peak Ring itself, as well as the bright white Rays that spread across the right side (---> West) of the picture.
While some of the Hollows existing on and near the Crater's Peak Ring and Outer Rim are, somehow, "associated" (here and there, and always unevenly) with Low Reflectance Material, as evidenced by their bright white halos, the Rays that are visible here (---> such as towards the Western and South/Western sides of the frame) are, in fact, coming from other Impact Craters located in Wang Meng's proximities - including the small, fresh Impact Crater visible towards the right corner of the picture, just in betwenn the Peak Ring and the Outer Rim of Wang Meng.
Date acquired: April, 20th, 2013
Images Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 8743264, 8743256, 8743260
Images ID: 3915336, 3915334, 3915335
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 6,33° North
Center Longitude: 254,10° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 41,6° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the pictures were taken, was about 48,4° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 0,2°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 41,7°
This frame (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's false colors and Map-Projected image-mosaic published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17239) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified to aid the visibility of the details, Gamma corrected and then re-colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Mercurian Impact Crater "Wang Meng"), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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Mercury - Photo Mosaic - Mariner 10.jpgMercury photo-mosaic from Mariner 1075 visiteE non si tratterà, ovviamente, di una passeggiata: sono infatti previste ben tre spinte gravitazionali per la Sonda! La prima verrà data dalla Terra, nell'Agosto 2005; la seconda e la terza, da Venere, rispettivamente, nell'Ottobre 2006 e nel Giugno 2007. Dopodichè, salvo il ricorso a qualche ulteriore e, al momento, non prevedibile micro-correzione di rotta, Messenger arriverà nei pressi di Mercurio ed effettuerà, prima dell'Orbital Insertion, tre Fly-Bys (Passaggi Ravvicinati): Gennaio ed Ottobre 2008 e Settembre 2009.
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Crater_Field-208852.jpgFresh Primary Impact Crater and Secondary Craters (HR)75 visiteOn January 14, 2008, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft observed about half of the hemisphere not seen by Mariner 10. This image shows part of a large, fresh crater with secondary crater chains located near Mercury’s Equator on the side of the Planet newly imaged by MESSENGER.
Large, flat-floored craters show terraced rims from post-impact collapse of their newly formed walls. The hundreds of secondary impactors that are excavated from the Planet’s surface by an incoming object, create long, linear crater chains radial to the main crater.
These chains, in addition to the rest of the ejecta blanket, create the complicated, hilly terrain surrounding the primary crater in the image. By counting craters that have formed since the impact event, the age of the crater can be estimated.
This count can then be compared with a similar count for the crater floor to determine whether any material has partially filled the crater since its formation. With their large size and production of abundant secondary craters, these flat-floored craters both illuminate and confound the study of the geological history of Mercury. MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Caloris_Basin.jpgCaloris Basin: fascinating "Rayed Crater" or an extremely old "Shield Volcano"?75 visiteThe NAC of the MDIS on the MESSENGER Spacecraft obtained HR images of the floor of the Caloris Basin on January 14, 2008. Near the center of the basin, an area unseen by Mariner 10, this remarkable feature – nicknamed “The Spider” by the Science Team – was revealed. A set of troughs radiates outward in a geometry unlike anything seen by Mariner 10. The radial troughs are interpreted to be the result of extension (breaking apart) of the floor materials that filled the Caloris Basin after its formation. Other troughs near the center form a polygonal pattern. This type of polygonal pattern of troughs is also seen along the interior margin of the Caloris Basin. An impact crater about 40 Km (~25 miles) in diameter appears to be centered on “The Spider.” The straight-line segments of the crater walls may have been influenced by preexisting extensional troughs, but some of the troughs may have formed at the time that the crater was excavated.
Nota Lunexit: portando il massimo rispetto per quanto esposto e dedotto nella caption NASA, noi riteniamo - dopo aver ATTENTAMENTE ESAMINATO le differenti ed intricate surface features di "Spider Crater" - che il rilievo ripreso dalla Sonda NASA Messenger potrebbe NON ESSERE un impact crater con raggiatura intensa ed estesa, bensì quello che resta di un antichissimo Shield Volcano (probabilmente simile, per certi versi, al gigante Ascraeus Mons) oppure il remnant di una Caldera Vulcanica la quale è ormai quasi completamente collassata (es.: la Summit Caldera del Vulcano Marziano Hecates Tholus). In effetti, se si eccettua il Central Peak (a nostro avviso l'unica evidenza che ha "suggerito" l'ipotesi "craterica" come ipotesi base), le fattezze dello "Spider" sono, da un lato, molto lontane dalle fattezze proprie e tipiche dei crateri da impatto ed invece molto simili, dall'altro, alle fattezze proprie e tipiche dei vulcani (osservate le ripide e scoscese pareti Nord del rilievo le quali sono assolutamente analoghe alle pareti delle Summit Calderae di Olympus ed Ascraeus nonchè MOLTO SIMILI alla Culann-Tohill Patera di Io). Osservate le tracce di "Lava Flows" visibili sul versante Sud dello "Spider" ad ore 07:00 ed 08:00 e, quale intrigante ed ulteriore evidenza della possibile origine vulcanica del rilievo, la colorizzazione e la texture dei dintorni del medesimo (nettamente più scura del resto del paesaggio e, anche da e per questo aspetto, molto simile alle textures e colorizzazioni dei dintorni dei già menzionati Vulcani Marziani (e non solo).
Insomma: noi non stiamo dicendo che gli Scienziati di Pasadena hanno sbagliato...Vi stiamo solo suggerendo una "visione alternativa" (e, a nostro avviso, non "campata per aria"...) del medesimo rilievo. I Vostri commenti e le Vostre riflessioni saranno, come sempre, tenute in considerazione.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Basho_Crater-PIA10650.jpgRays from the Darkness: Basho Crater (MULTISPECTRUM-2; credits: Lunexit)75 visiteThough Basho Crater is only about 80 Km (ABOUT 50 miles) in diameter, its bright rays make it an easily identified feature on Mercury's surface. In addition to the long bright rays, photographs from Mariner 10 showed an intriguing dark halo of material around the Crater, which can be seen in the lower right portion of this Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) image snapped by MESSENGER's Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) on January 14, 2008. The MESSENGER Science Team is using the full color data set obtained with the 11 filters of the Wide Angle Camera (WAC) to investigate the nature and composition of this dark material.
The Crater is named for the 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, renowned for his many haiku. MESSENGER's images of Mercury's striking landscape have inspired at least one poet; read Stuart Atkinson's poem " MESSENGER's Memories."MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Terminator-PIA10937-0.jpgNorthern Latitudes and a possible Orbital Anomaly (natural colors; credits: Lunexit)75 visiteAbout 91 minutes after MESSENGER’s closest pass by the Planet, MDIS acquired this image of Mercury’s Northern Surface, which is one in a set of 48 that form a mosaic of the departing Planet. In this image, the left portion of the Surface fades into darkness at the Terminator, the line between the sunlit dayside of the Planet and the dark night side.
The left-side portions of the surface that are just coming out of the darkness are being hit with the first rays of morning sunlight. Some of the surface to the right of this scene can be viewed in this previously released image looking toward Mercury’s North Pole (PIA10193).
Date Acquired: January 14, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 108830334
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 0,8 Km/pixel (0,5 miles/pixel) Scale: The width of this image is about 800 Km (approx. 500 miles)
Spacecraft Altitude: about 30.700 Km (approx. 19.100 miles)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Cratered_Plains-PIA12050.jpgRudaki Plains and Crater75 visiteLast week (April 2009), MESSENGER team members presented the results from 4 papers published in the 1st of May issue of the "Science" magazine at a NASA media teleconference. The color views shown here of the Plains near Rudaki Crater was just one of the graphics presented at that teleconference (nota: NO. La versione che vedete su queste pagine è quella ottenuta da Lunar Explorer Italia, applicando la metodologia Multispettrale).
The left image was created by combining WAC images from three narrow-band color filters to approximate Mercury's color as it would be seen by the human eye. The right image used a statistical analysis of all 11 WAC filters to highlight subtle color differences on the surface, as has been used for many previous releases, such as ones focused on Thakur Crater and Caloris Basin.
Date Acquired: October 6, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 131770571-131770621
Instrument: Wide Angle Camera (WAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS).
WAC Filters: Left image: 3, 4, 5 (480, 560, 630 nanometers). Right Image: statistical analysis involving all 11 WAC filters
Scale: The crater in the center of the image is approx. 68 Km (about 42 miles) in diameter
Spacecraft Altitude: about 2800 Km (approx. 1700 miles)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Benoit_Crater-PIA12428.jpgBenoit Crater and Lange Basin (False Colors; credits: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)75 visiteThis NAC image, acquired during MESSENGER's 1st Mercury Fly-By, shows the Crater Benoit and the Lange Basin.
Benoit Craer has been so named in honor of Rigaud Benoit, a twentieth century Haitian painter (1911-1987), while the Lange Basin is in honor of the American photographer Dorothea Lange (1895-1965).
These particular Craters were proposed for names on the basis of some interesting features of each. Benoit is a small approx. 35-Km-diameter (about 22-mile-diameter) Crater, but its floor is quite unusual, with two mounds that have been suggested to be evidence of intrusive volcanic activity on Mercury.
The larger neighboring Lange Basin appears to have been flooded by lava, with only faint traces remaining of a now buried Inner Ring.
Date Acquired: January 14, 2008
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 108828463
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Resolution: 500 meters/pixel (0,31 miles)
Scale: Lange Basin is approx. 180 Km (about 112 miles) in diameter
Spacecraft Altitude: about 19.700 Km (approx. 12.200 miles)MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Neruda_Crater-PIA17515-PCF-LXTT-IPF-0.jpgNeruda Crater (CTX Frame - Absolute Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga/Lunar Explorer Italia/Italian Planetary Foundation)75 visiteThis frame features the Mercurian Impact Crater named "Neruda", after the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda (born on July, 12, 1904 in Parral - Chile - and died on September, 23, 1973 in the Chilean State's Capital, Santiago). As you can see, this Impact Crater (whose diameter is approx. 112 Km - such as about 69,55 miles) exhibits several Central Peaks punctuated by a few more recent, small Craters, resulting in a rugged Surface mostly made of ups and downs (and now think how difficult it would be if one hypothetical Astronaut decided - or just needed - to traverse the whole Crater's highly irregular Floor...). Similarly, the Crater's namesake Pablo Neruda experienced a number of ups and downs in his life, from success as a poet, through poverty, war and ultimately alleged poisoning.
Date acquired: July, 24th, 2012
Image Mission Elapsed Time (MET): 251577944
Image ID: 2256593
Instrument: Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS)
Center Latitude: 52,20° South
Center Longitude: 125,30° East
Solar Incidence Angle: 80,4° (meaning that the Sun, at the time that the picture was taken, was about 9,6° above the imaged Local Mercurian Horizon)
Emission Angle: 2,4°
Sun-Mercury-Messenger (or "Phase") Angle: 78,0°
This picture (which is an Original NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft's b/w and Map-Projected image published on the NASA - Planetary Photojournal with the ID n. PIA 17515) has been additionally processed, contrast enhanced, magnified and then colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a human eye would actually perceive if someone were onboard the NASA - MESSENGER Spacecraft and then looked down, towards the Surface of Mercury), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team. Different colors, as well as different shades of the same color, mean, among other things, the existence of different Elements (Minerals) present on the Surface of Mercury, each having a different Albedo (---> Reflectivity) and Chemical Composition.MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-North_Pole-209526.jpgThe North Pole of Mercury74 visiteAs MESSENGER sped by Mercury on January 14, 2008, the NAC of the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) captured this shot looking toward Mercury's North Pole.
The surface shown in this image is from the side of Mercury not previously seen by spacecraft.
The top right of this image shows the limb of the Planet, which transitions into the Terminator on the top left of the image.
Near the Terminator, the Sun illuminates surface features at a low angle, casting long shadows and causing height differences of the surface to appear more prominent in this Region.
It is interesting to compare MESSENGER's view to the North with the image looking toward the South Pole, released on January 21. Comparing these two images, it can be seen that the terrain near the South Pole is more heavily cratered while some of the Regions near the North Pole show less cratered, smooth plains material, consistent with the general observations of the poles as made by Mariner 10.
This image was acquired about 94' after MESSENGER's closest approach to Mercury, when the spacecraft was at a distance of about 32.000 Km (such as approx. 20.000 miles).
Mission Elapsed Time (MET) of image: 108830513MareKromium
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ZZ-Mercury-Craters-Eminescu_Crater-PIA10610.jpgEminescu Crater (MULTISPECTRUM-2; credits: Lunexit)74 visiteLast week, the MESSENGER team learned that the impact crater seen in the middle of this Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) image has been officially named Eminescu. The Crater was named in honor of Mihai Eminescu, an accomplished and influential poet who is still considered the national poet of Romania. The MESSENGER team proposed the name to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the authority that officially names surface features on planetary bodies.
Eminescu Crater is 125 Km (about 78 miles) in diameter and can be seen just at the top of PIA10384.
The image shown here was acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) on January 14, 2008, and shows a portion of Mercury's surface unseen by spacecraft prior to MESSENGER's historic flyby.
Eminescu is a particularly interesting crater for several reasons. Eminescu formed more recently than most of the craters on Mercury, on the grounds that there are very few later craters superposed on it. Moreover, impressive chains of secondary craters, formed by material ejected by the impact explosion that formed the crater, radiate away from Eminescu.
The central peaks within the crater are arranged in a circular pattern; geologists call this a "Peak Ring".
The bright peaks inside Eminescu exhibit unusual color characteristics in the 11-color Wide Angle Camera (WAC) images, which the MESSENGER Science Team is currently studying.
They show up with a bluish tinge in the previously released false-color image of the entire planet (see PIA10398); Eminescu is just North of the Equator, near the day/night "Terminator" in that image.MareKromium
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